278: The spear of pollution, purification, and order

“Psionic Resonance Amplifier, overload mode activated! Psionic network load increased to critical point — 120%!”

“‘Relic’ Resonance frequency synchronized! Starting to release the ‘Wave of Purity’! Target range: full frequency band coverage, the entire Nexus Point space station and the surrounding 5,000 kilometers of airspace! Let the radiance of psionics wash away every inch of ignorance!”

“Warning! Warning! Relic core energy output fluctuating violently! Dark red erosion index climbing non-linearly! Energy field structure at risk of collapse! Repeat, at risk of collapse!”

“Shut up! Continue! Use our three spirits as fuel, use the ‘Relic’ as the flame, and burn away this twisted Order and this ignorant race! Let ‘Purity’ become the only truth here!”

Deep within the “blade of spiritual thought”, in the chamber sealed by layers of psionic runes and physical armor, the scene was no longer of this world. The air emitted a whimpering hiss under the high heat and energy distortion, and everything within sight was a crazily leaping purple-black and dark red light. The floor, walls, and ceiling—all the engraved ancient psionic circuits were now like living blood vessels, greedily draining the near-boiling psionic energy extracted from Sharp Light, Flash Thought, and Heart Ripple. It mixed this wild power with the nauseating, twisted energy radiating from the “Relic” crystal at the center, pumping it outward in waves to form that destructive purple-red psychic storm.

That fist-sized black crystal, known as the “Relic”, no longer looked “holy” at all. It floated at the core of the array like a beating, evil heart on the verge of bursting. Its surface was covered in cobweb-like dark red cracks, and deep within those cracks surged a viscous light that seemed to come from the bottom of the abyss. It vibrated and spun crazily, and every pulse caused the energy of the surrounding space to undergo bizarre distortions, emitting a greedy hiss that transcended the auditory range and reached deep into the soul. The purple psionic chains binding it had long since dimmed, eroded like a candle in the wind, emitting a mournful sound as they neared breaking.

Sharp Light floated at the center of the array, arms wide open. Purple psionic flames gushed from his seven orifices, merging with the array and pouring continuously into the black crystal. His originally stern face was distorted by extreme fanaticism and the backlash of power, purple veins bulging and throbbing beneath his skin. In his silver-white eyes, only pure, destructive madness remained. He no longer attempted precise control; instead, he completely turned himself and his two followers into conduits and amplifiers for this mixed energy, sparing no cost, just to pour out more power of “purification”.

The situations of Flash Thought and Heart Ripple were just as dire. They knelt on the Nodes of the array, their bodies trembling violently from the overload, and fine, purple beads of sweat with a psionic shimmer oozed from their skin. Their eyes were unfocused one moment and then erupted with the same madness as Sharp Light the next, while they unconsciously repeated broken prayers. The dark red energy radiating from the black crystal, with its strong erosive and assimilative nature, was counter-eroding along the psionic channels they were outputting, not only polluting their power but also gnawing away at their sanity and self little by little.

The so-called “Wave of Purity” had long since completely deteriorated under the influence of the uncontrollable, twisted nature of the “World Devourer” crystal. It was no longer the gentle light that the psionic “Purist” faction envisioned, meant to “enlighten” and “guide” lost souls toward “sublimation”. It had turned into a terrifying torrent carrying forced brainwashing, mental tearing, desire ignition, and the signature “World Devourer” trait of dragging all things toward chaos and collapse.

When this psychic shockwave, mixed with purple-black psionic force and dark red “World Devourer” pollution, erupted from the “blade of spiritual thought” as its origin point, the scene was apocalyptic.

The first to bear the impact were the warning barriers and security forces deployed by “Sprout” on the perimeter of the docking area. Those semi-transparent shields, woven from living plant fibers and infused with biological energy, were like fragile films exposed to strong acid the moment the purple-red wave struck. They emitted a teeth-grinding “hissing” sound, rapidly becoming turbid and dim, their structures disintegrating into gray-green debris that lost its vitality and scattered into the sky. The soldiers behind the shields—whether they were combatants equipped with bio-energy firearms and covered in light biological armor, or the “Symbiotic Coordinators” who maintained regional ecological balance through deep connection with the space station’s defense systems—collectively froze the instant the invisible psychic tsunami swept over!

There was no physical trauma, no splashing blood. But their spiritual worlds were instantly forcibly torn open, flooded, and stirred!

Countless overlapping, contradictory roars, whispers, and shrieks filled with temptation and commands, accompanied by forced projections of twisted “Psionic Holy Realm” illusions (pure purple light, towering spiritual holy mountains, choirs of countless “sublimated” souls without sorrow or joy), violently crashed into every corner of their consciousness. Individuals with weaker willpower instantly lost focus, their pupils stained with an eerie purple-red, their weapons clattering to the ground. Their bodies began to twitch and sway unconsciously, their lips parting to utter fragmented gibberish praising “Psionic Ultimate Purity” and “All Things Return to One”. Those with stronger wills felt as if a red-hot iron had been thrust into their brains; they let out agonizing screams, clutching their heads with both hands, fingernails digging deep into their skin. Their past memories, cherished emotions, and steadfast beliefs clashed crazily with the forcibly instilled, cold, and fanatical “Purity” dogma. Their minds were on the verge of collapse; some even began to attack everything around them indiscriminately, including their former comrades.

Chaos, like thick ink dropped into clear water, spread throughout the entire “Nexus Point” space station at an astonishing speed. Harsh original alarms, explosions from equipment overload, the groaning of twisting metal, the roars and chanting of the maddened, the exclamations and cries of the unpolluted... All sounds were swallowed and twisted by the ubiquitous, increasingly loud purple-red psionic echo, eventually blending into a vast chorus of “madness” that made the soul tremble!

In the command center, Green Vine relied on his resilient will, accumulated over hundreds of years of life, and his deep, near-symbiotic mental connection with the space station’s main control core to barely stand firm at the center of this psychic storm. But he also paid a heavy price. All color had drained from his aged, green face, which was covered in wrinkles like plant veins, and gray, necrotic patches representing severe mental trauma appeared on his skin. He felt his mind was like a small boat tossing in a raging sea, countless chaotic thoughts and illusions trying to drag him into the abyss. But he gritted his teeth, his root-like fingers digging deep into the console. Through blurred vision, he watched the areas on the monitoring screens that were falling one by one, and the faces of his compatriots that were twisted in madness or completely hollow. A wave of unparalleled anger, the sharp pain of betrayal, and the deepest despair of a civilization’s guardian exploded in his chest.

“This is not communication... not a misunderstanding...” He said hoarsely, every word seemingly squeezed from his broken chest, “This is the most naked aggression! The most vicious pollution! It is a trampling and desecration of the soul of ‘Sprout’!”

“Chief! Over 70% of regular communications across the station are interrupted! Active defense shields have completely failed! Zones A through G have completely lost contact, and life signal monitoring shows signs of massive mental collapse! There... there are reports that some affected individuals are exhibiting aggressive behavior, accompanied by... abnormal proliferation of body tissue!” The adjutant’s voice carried uncontrollable fear, and one of his arms was twitching unnaturally, clearly also struggling to resist the pollution.

“Initiate the highest emergency plan ‘Deep Rooted’!” Green Vine roared with all his strength, his voice transmitted directly to the core system via physical lines, “Forcibly sever all neural symbiotic connections in lost areas! At any cost! Release all stocks of ‘Soul-Calming Pollen’ and ‘Mind Freezing Agent’! All armed personnel who can still remain clear-headed, abandon the rescue of the fallen zones and concentrate all forces to blockade the ‘blade of spiritual thought’ docking area! Our goal is no longer to save everyone... it is to stop the source of pollution from spreading and save the last seeds!”

He knew that this Order meant abandoning those compatriots who might still be saved, and meant concentrating limited, still-resistant forces on a single point for a near-suicidal interception. This was an incredibly cruel choice, but as the leader of a civilization, he had to be responsible for the continuation of the race. Tears mixed with green, pheromone-laden body fluids slid from the corners of his eyes. The dream of peace was shattered; now, only a fight to the death offered a glimmer of survival.

However, the storm was still escalating.

Inside the “blade of spiritual thought”, under the cost-no-object psionic infusion of Sharp Light and the other two, the black crystal seemed to have been completely “activated” in its terrifying essence as a “World Devourer” relic. It was no longer satisfied with acting merely as an amplifier for psychic pollution. The dark red energy began to more actively erode, transform, and devour everything around it—including the psionic energy of Sharp Light and the other two, including the negative emotions of fear, pain, and madness permeating the space station, and it even began to faintly absorb the vigorous but “ignorant” planetary life force of the “Emerald Court” planet!

The intensity of the purple-red psychic pollution wave surged again, and its nature underwent an even more terrifying change. The “forced purification” and “mental guidance” components contained within were further weakened, while the signature physical erosion, material distortion, and energy corruption characteristics of the “World Devourer” energy increased drastically!

Where the shockwave swept, the bodies of those deeply polluted “Sprout” people began to undergo horrifying mutations. Dark red cysts or tumors swelled and squirmed beneath their skin, limb joints twisted in reverse, and viscous, foul-smelling black liquid flowed from their mouths and noses. They emitted inhuman howls mixed with pain and ecstasy, and their aggression increased geometrically. Even the space station’s metal structures, lighting systems, and ecological life-support pipes began to rust, decay, and lose their luster at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if they had aged thousands of years in an instant. A nauseating, strange odor, a mix of sweetness and the smell of metal and rotting flesh, began to permeate the air.

The pollution was spreading comprehensively from the purely spiritual level toward the physical and material world!

The bridge of the "ranger" was currently like a lone boat in a storm. Despite being some distance from the "Nexus Point" space station and having activated the strongest composite energy barrier and psychic protective field, when the upgraded purple-red pollution frenzy swept past like a tsunami, the entire ship still emitted an unbearable groan, as if its metal skeleton were about to snap. The hull jolted violently, images on the holographic screens flickered and distorted crazily, piercing alarms blared continuously, and red warnings of various system overloads flooded the control interface.

"Psycho-material hybrid pollution impact! Intensity has broken through A+ level, reaching the theoretical S- level threshold! The range is continuously expanding!" Evelyn was pale as paper, her hands turning into a blur on the console as she desperately maintained the stability of the ship's core systems, her voice trembling slightly from tension. "The 'World Devourer' energy erosion component in the shockwave has already exceeded 60%! The biological structures of the 'Sprout' people have extremely low resistance to this hybrid erosion! The material structure of the space station is also being rapidly corrupted! At this rate, in fifteen minutes at most, the entire 'Nexus Point' will turn into a massive, living hybrid of rotting sarcoma and insane will!"

"That crystal... it's 'feeding'!" White Elder's voice came through the encrypted channel, carrying unprecedented horror. "It is using the psionic energy of Sharp Light and the other two as a fuse, and the painful emotions of all life within the space station and the life force dissipating from the planet as fuel, undergoing an 'activation' process we cannot fully comprehend! It is no longer a dead object; it is... 'waking up'! Although it is only an extremely faint 'awakening,' its energy level and danger are growing exponentially!"

Excellence gripped the armrests of his seat tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. The scene before him was a hundred times worse than any worst-case scenario he had imagined! He had originally thought the "psionic zealots" were just using the power of the "World Devourer" relic for mind control, never expecting that the relic itself was such a terrifyingly unstable factor, and even less that these lunatics would dare to use their own psionic energy to "feed" and "activate" it! Now, the situation had completely spiraled out of control, sliding toward an irredeemable abyss!

"What else can we do?!" Su Mu's voice came through, laced with tears. She was clearly also witnessing this hellish scene in front of the base's surveillance monitors. "Those 'Sprout' people... they are in so much pain! That old man 'Green Vine'—he's about to collapse! The space station is finished!"

"The Protocol..." Evelyn spoke with difficulty, but looking at the green figures on the screen whose bodies were twisted and mutated, emitting inhuman howls, and watching the constantly spreading, living-sore-like corrosion area, the rest of her words could not be spoken. Cold rules, in the face of such an intuitive tragedy of civilizational extinction, appeared pale and cruel.

"The Protocol also grants us the authority to take 'minimal, most covert, and necessary measures' to intervene when a civilization faces a 'certain, irreversible, and extinction-level disaster'!" Excellence raised his head abruptly, the silver-white light in his eyes, like a volcano suppressed to the extreme, beginning to surge and burn violently. "Now, it is 'certain,' 'irreversible,' and 'extinction-level'! If we do nothing, the core essence of the 'Sprout' civilization will be completely polluted or destroyed here, and this relatively peaceful civilization will either perish or become a new nest for 'World Devourer' pollution, endangering the entire star sector!"

His gaze swept across his team members and finally landed on the "blade of spiritual thought" wrapped in purple-red evil light on the screen, and on the black crystal pulsing like an evil heart in the center of the magic circle.

"We cannot appear directly; we cannot expose the existence of the 'Observers' and The Council. But we can... 'guide' them to save themselves, and at the most critical moment, 'help' them create an opportunity—an opportunity to interrupt this process of destruction!"

He spoke extremely quickly, yet his train of thought was exceptionally clear: "Evelyn! Immediately attempt to connect to the space station's last remaining, physically isolated, independent backup communication Node! Use any disguise you can think of to send a message to 'Green Vine's' command center! Content: In the name of the space station's bottom-layer 'Disaster Control AI' or 'Ancient Security Protocol,' tell them—the energy structure of the pollution source is extremely unstable due to the mixing of different types of forces; strong physical impacts, high-energy field interference, or energy Resonance at specific frequencies may cause its internal energy circuits to malfunction or even briefly collapse! Advise them to concentrate all non-energy-based, strong physical means to attack the core area of the 'blade of spiritual thought' ship where the energy reaction is most intense, and interfere at any cost!"

"You want to guide them to attack using physical means?" Evelyn immediately understood Excellence's intention, a glimmer of hope rekindling in her eyes. "Although the combination of psionic energy and 'world devourer' pollution is terrifying, its energy field itself might have weak points due to the conflict in nature and the crude urging by Sharp Light and the others! Pure, high-intensity physical impacts, especially those that can trigger local spatial vibrations or energy field harmonic Resonance, do indeed have the possibility of interfering with or even briefly paralyzing that unstable energy core!"

"Yes! 'Sprout' biotechnology must have similar means! Strong acids, biological high-voltage electricity, super-resilient physical entanglement, or even spores that can trigger local gravitational perturbations! Have them use all their 'assets,' concentrate on one point, and interfere with everything they've got!" Excellence said decisively. "At the same time, White Elder, Su Mu, you two fully analyze the energy fluctuation patterns of that crystal and the entire pollution field, searching for its most unstable 'Resonance frequency' or 'energy tide trough' that is most sensitive to external interference! Evelyn, after sending the message, immediately prepare all available, non-lethal, highly covert long-range interference means on the 'ranger'—ultra-low-frequency gravitational ripple generators, precisely targeted micro-spatial shockwaves, or even... calculate the optimal projection parameters for the 'Spear of Order'!"

"Spear of Order?" Evelyn was startled. "You want to attack directly? That will expose..."

"It's the 'last resort'!" Excellence's eyes were cold and resolute. He gripped the air with his right hand, and wisps of pure, condensed silver-white Power of Order began to gather, stretch, and shape in his palm, gradually forming a spear of light about two meters long, existing between reality and illusion, flowing with solemn silver radiance throughout its body, its spear tip holding a point of cold gleam that seemed capable of piercing through all delusions and chaos. "If the 'Sprout' counterattack fails, or if that crystal truly begins an irreversible 'awakening' and material transformation... I must use the Power of Order to forcibly 'silence' that area before it causes irredeemable destruction! This is the only way to possibly interrupt the process. As long as the attack is sufficiently sudden, precise, and swift, and we retreat immediately after one strike, the risk of exposure can be minimized. Besides," he glanced at the flashing mission prompt on his personal terminal, "dealing with 'World Devourer' associations is already within the scope of authorization."

Evelyn looked at the spear of light in Excellence's hand that radiated a heart-palpitating, majestic aura, then looked at the space station on the screen that looked like a living hell, and finally nodded heavily: "Understood! Message encrypted and disguised, sending now! Interference means being prepared! 'Spear of Order' projection trajectory calculation, initiating!"

On the verge of having his consciousness almost submerged by pain and chaos, Green Vine received that urgent message from an eerie source, with an ancient format, as if it came from the bottom-layer AI embedded at the time of the space station's construction. The authenticity of the information could not be verified, but its content—the analysis regarding the instability of the pollution source's energy structure and the potential effectiveness of strong physical interference—struck his nearly despairing mind like a bolt of lightning cleaving through the darkness.

There was no time to hesitate, no opportunity to verify. This was the only path of hope in this desperate situation, flickering with a faint spark!

"All warriors who can still hear my voice! Fellow countrymen!" Green Vine used his last bit of strength to transmit his command through physical broadcasts and the remaining neural connections, "Abandon all illusions! We are facing a vicious enemy that wishes to completely erase our existence! Now, execute the final counterattack protocol 'Crown of Thorns'!"

"Concentrate all inventory of 'Abyssal Acid Sacs,' 'Metal-Splitting Spores,' and 'Soul-Suppressing Thunder Flowers'! Target: 'blade of spiritual thought' ship, the mid-section area where the energy reaction is most intense! Attack! Use acid to corrode its hull! Use explosions to tear its structure apart! Use thunder to disrupt its energy! Release all 'Strangling Magic Vines,' wrap it up, and strangle it into its metal skeleton!"

"Activate the space station's backup gravity generators to create high-frequency micro-gravity perturbations around the 'blade of spiritual thought'! Even if it only makes it shake once!"

"For the 'Emerald Court'! For the forests and songs that have not yet been tainted! Attack!"

With the Order given, the remaining, not-yet-completely-polluted "Sprout" forces, like a wounded giant beast driven into a corner, let out a final, desperate roar.

On the outskirts of the docking area, from the gaps in the broken alloy gates, dozens of "Thorn Warriors" whose bodies had completely fused with hideous modified plants forced their way out. They roared, their arms transforming into nozzles, and dark green, highly concentrated "Abyssal Acid" shot out like high-pressure water guns, splashing onto the teetering psionic shield and hull of the "blade of spiritual thought," emitting terrifying "hissing" sounds and etching out large pits that spewed white smoke.

Other warriors fired fist-sized, steel-hard "Metal-Splitting Spores" from symbiotic tumor sacs on their backs. These spores exploded violently upon impact with the hull or shields. Although the power of a single shot was limited, the dense volley still caused the ship's shield to flicker wildly, and dents and cracks appeared on the hull.

One by one, "Soul-Suppressing Thunder Flowers" flickering with dangerous purple light were thrown and catapulted out, blooming in mid-air near the target, releasing thick, leaping chain lightning that frantically whipped the ship's energy system, interfering with its internal circuits.

The most astonishing sight was the "Strangling Magic Vines" that surged crazily from the gaps in the space station's structure like giant pythons. They were as thick as buckets, their surfaces covered in metal-like barbs and suckers, fearlessly wrapping around the hull of the "blade of spiritual thought." The barbs embedded deeply into the metal, the suckers adhered firmly, and then they began a terrifying contraction and twisting! The "creaking" sound of twisting metal was teeth-grinding.

At the same time, in a few unaffected areas of the space station, old backup gravity generators were overloaded, creating chaotic, constantly changing micro-gravitational fields around the "blade of spiritual thought." Although not enough to move the massive ship, they caused continuous interference to its internal precision instruments and energy flow.

Inside the "blade of spiritual thought," in the secret chamber. Sharp Light and the other two were immersed in a painful tug-of-war between their violent output of power and the backlash of the black crystal when they suddenly suffered such violent and targeted physical impact and energy interference, causing the magic circle they were maintaining to shake violently!

The spaceship's shields, already fragile due to the violent output of internal energy, finally collapsed completely under the sustained assault of acid, explosions, and thunder!

Physical attacks acted directly upon the hull!

The immense force of the strangling magic vines made the hull structure groan, gravitational disturbances caused instrument readings to jump erratically, and energy flow became sluggish!

"Pfft—!" Sharp Light bore the brunt of it, spewing a mouthful of purple blood, the spiritual energy flames around his body flickering on and off.

The connection between the magic array and the black crystal suffered a momentary disturbance.

It was this momentary disturbance that, for the World Devourer crystal—which was already in a state of violent instability—was nothing short of the final straw that broke the camel's back!

The dark red energy within it stalled abruptly, then surged back with unprecedented ferocity!

No longer content with merely eroding spiritual energy, it began to extract the life force and soul essence of Sharp Light and his two companions even more frantically, while simultaneously creating a sort of twisted "Resonance" with the vibrations and energy turbulence caused by external physical interference!

"No... stop! Sacred object! Obey me!" Sharp Light discovered with terror that his control over the crystal was rapidly slipping away; that dark red energy was like a ferocious beast breaking free from its shackles, turning back to devour him!

"Mentor! It... it's eating us!" Flash Thought and Heart Ripple let out shrill screams as their bodies withered at a rate visible to the naked eye, purple-red veins bulging and writhing under their skin, as if something were draining their essence from within.

The black crystal's radiance surged, the dark red almost completely overwhelming the purple.

An even larger, more chaotic, and destructive energy filled with hunger was coalescing; its goal seemed to be no longer just mental control, but to drag the entire space station, along with all matter and energy inside, into complete, physical collapse and distortion!

"Now!" On the ranger, Evelyn shouted sharply, "The target energy field has developed a periodic 'collapse' weakness due to internal conflict and external interference! Coordinates locked! The optimal projection window for the Spear of Order—3 seconds!"

Excellence, who had long been poised for action, felt silver light erupt from his eyes, and the Power of Order around him boiled like the sea.

He gripped the silver-white light spear, condensed to its extreme, with both hands and raised it high above his head, his entire being seemingly transforming into the projection of an ancient deity in charge of law and solemnity.

"In the name of Order—Silence!"

His arm became a blur, and the silver-white light spear flew from his hand!

There was no sound, no brilliant exhaust trail.

The light spear seemed to merge directly into the veins of space, traversing the distance between the ranger and the blade of spiritual thought in a way that transcended conventional concepts of physical speed, ignoring all energy turbulence and debris in its path, like a verdict destined to arrive, a silver-white lightning bolt cleaving through chaos, hitting with absolute precision the compartment area on the hull of the blade of spiritual thought where the black crystal was located and where the energy reaction was most chaotic!

The light spear did not cause a physical explosion or penetration.

The moment it touched the hull armor, it transformed into a pure, high-dimensional conceptual impact of "Order," ignoring material barriers and acting directly upon the core of the chaotic energy field filled with purple-red and pitch-black—that black crystal which was trembling violently and on the verge of complete runaway!

Time, in that moment, seemed to be stretched infinitely, then compressed instantly.

At the central point where the power of "Order" and the "world devourer" pollution collided head-on, space itself let out a silent wail.

The silver-white, clear, and majestic light, like an iceberg dropped into a boiling cauldron or the morning sun dispelling thick fog, swept outwards with an irresistible, absolute will of "calm" and "regulation."

Wherever it passed, the wildly dancing purple-black spiritual energy flames were extinguished as if by an invisible hand, instantly dimming and dissipating.

The viscous, disgusting dark red corrosive energy, like filth exposed to holy purifying water, made a "hissing" sound of annihilation, rapidly fading, decomposing, and turning into nothingness.

The maddening whispers and roars that filled the space ceased abruptly.

The ongoing material corruption and physical distortion were like being pressed on a pause button, then began to "reverse" and heal at an illogical speed (though they could not be fully restored to their original state, at least the deterioration stopped).

The black crystal, that "sacred object," let out a final, piercing wail at the soul level under the scouring of the silver-white light!

The violently surging dark red light within it was as if frozen, suddenly solidifying and dimming.

The spiderweb-like cracks on the crystal's surface expanded instantly, and then, the entire crystal seemed to lose all inner vitality and evil spiritual light, turning into an ordinary, dull, cracked black stone that fell from the air, hitting the metal floor of the secret room with a "clatter," and then remaining motionless.

Sharp Light, Flash Thought, and Heart Ripple were struck as if by a massive blow, simultaneously spewing blood (purple spiritual blood mixed with bright red life blood), their auras instantly wilting like a punctured balloon, the madness and purple-red in their eyes rapidly fading, leaving only boundless shock, weakness, and bone-deep fear.

They collapsed to the ground, unable to move even a finger, their spiritual foundations having suffered a devastating blow, their lives like candles in the wind.

With the "Silence" of the energy source and the severe injury of the casters, the purple-red spiritual-material pollution frenzy that had enveloped the entire Nexus Point space station rapidly weakened and subsided like a tsunami that had lost its power.

The piercing alarms and frantic roars gradually ceased, leaving only the suppressed weeping of survivors, heavy breathing, and the "hissing" sound of the energy system cooling down after overload.

Inside the space station, it was a mess, as if it had gone through a brutal war.

Broken facilities, twisted metal, mottled corrosion marks, and countless Sprout people who were mentally traumatized, physically injured, and whose eyes still held traces of fear and confusion.

But at least, that desperate pollution, which had been dragging everything toward madness and destruction, had stopped spreading.

In the command center, Green Vine collapsed exhaustedly into his seat, watching the various readings on the screen gradually return to normal (though the figures were dismal), and looking at the blade of spiritual thought spaceship that was completely dim and floating like a dead fish.

His heart was filled with the dazed feeling of surviving a disaster, as well as huge questions.

What exactly was that final silver-white light that shot from the endless deep space, flashed and vanished, yet seemed to carry supreme majesty?

Who was it? Was it an enemy? A friend?

Inside the ranger, Excellence's face was as pale as paper, and his body swayed slightly; that last strike had almost drained all of his Power of Order and mental power.

Evelyn and Su Mu hurried forward to support him.

"The source of pollution has been forcibly 'Silenced' by the power of 'Order', and the energy reaction has returned to silence."

White Elder's voice came through, carrying a sense of relieved exhaustion, "Sharp Light and his two companions have suffered a spiritual collapse and are in critical condition, posing no further threat."

"The Sprout civilization... has suffered heavy losses, but the main body of the civilization has been preserved, neither polluted nor destroyed. The mission... has barely been completed."

Excellence nodded with difficulty and looked at his personal terminal.

A message had just refreshed: [Observer Excellence, in the "Nexus Point" incident in the G-7721 star sector, successfully implemented a covert operation in accordance with the "Civilization Extinction Risk Intervention" clause, effectively preventing the runaway of a high-risk World Devourer-associated entity (ID: Pending) and the resulting civilization pollution disaster. Behavioral assessment: Compliant with regulations, existence not exposed. Contribution points are being calculated... Basic mission rewards, risk allowances, performance bonuses, and special rewards for handling the World Devourer incident have been combined and issued.]

Looking at the amount of contribution points in his account that had finally turned from negative to positive and was quite substantial, Excellence managed to squeeze a smile onto his pale face.

At least... he was temporarily out of the "debtor" ranks.

However, in this brief silence of post-disaster survival, filled with exhaustion and relief—

"Oh my, my~ It seems the commotion in the kitchen over here is quite something, isn't it?"

That sweet, comical, familiar voice with an exaggerated rolled accent that seemed to ring directly at the soul level made the smile on Excellence's face freeze instantly, and all the hairs on his body stand on end!

Outside the Nexus Point space station, next to that dead-silent blade of spiritual thought spaceship, a small patch of space, like a soap bubble poked by a mischievous child, opened silently into a circle with edges shimmering with the luster of pink macarons.

The Lord of the Grand Feast's messenger—Giggle—wearing that iconic white chef's uniform with red stripes and a tall chef's hat, poked most of its body out from the rift.

Its oil-painted smiling face first "looked around" at the chaotic space station, and then its "gaze" precisely "landed" on the black crystal inside the blade of spiritual thought spaceship, which had just been hit by the Spear of Order, lost all activity, and fallen to the floor.

It reached out a white-gloved hand, stroked its smooth chin (if it had one), and in that sharp, comical tone, as if critiquing a failed dish, said:

"'world devourer' flavored cold 'spiritual energy' sashimi? Tsk tsk, the heat was overdone, the ingredients' flavors are clashing severely, and the plating is a mess, a failure among failures~"

Then, it turned toward the general direction of the ranger where Excellence was (despite the stealth field and the vast distance), as if it could directly "see" Excellence's shocked face, and asked in that spine-chilling, "service-enthusiastic" tone:

"However, our restaurant upholds the principle of 'cherishing ingredients, avoiding waste,' and provides thoughtful after-meal recycling services~ Respected guest, does this plate of poorly cooked 'chaotic stew' need me to help you pack it up and take it away to avoid polluting the environment? Of course, it's free of charge~ Giggle Giggle~"

Excellence: "..."

He felt a deep sense of powerlessness, and an absurd sense of destiny that "it was unavoidable after all."

That damn Lord of the Grand Feast!

How could His messenger always appear right on time after things were "barely" resolved, and then offer such a "thoughtful," "absurd," and "completely un-happy" "after-sales service"?!

The cognitive stabilization anchor at his waist seemed to sense the familiar fluctuation of the "joy" concept emanating from that pink rift, vibrated slightly, and emitted a cool, stable shimmer, slightly dispelling the sweet, absurd feeling that was trying to seep in.

Excellence looked at the pink rift on the screen and the oil-painted smiling face inside, then looked at the contribution points that had just arrived in his account and were still warm, and let out a long, resigned sigh.

This universe, this "Observer" job, really doesn't let anyone have a moment of peace.